By Kurtis Leyland
One-time Chelsea wonderkid Charly Musonda has announced his shock decision to retire from professional football at just 28-years-of-age. The former Belgium Under-21 international moved to West London when he was just 15-years-old from Anderlecht after being described by journalists at the time as the next ‘Eden Hazard’. Chelsea were so keen to sign Musonda at the time back in 2012 that they oddly agreed to give both of his two older brothers Tik and Lamisha – who were aged 18 and 20 respectively professional contracts at the same time, according to Mirror Sport. Musonda’s hype continue to grow after his move to Stamford Bridge and he formed part of the Chelsea team which won the UEFA Youth League playing alongside the likes of Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Dominic Solanke, Andreas Christensen and Ola Aina among others while playing against future Celtic players Patrick Roberts and Moussa Dembele in the first FA Youth Cup final triumph over Fulham before winning the tournament again against Manchester City a year later. The Belgian was a regular at all age groups ranging from Under-16 to Under-21 but failed to make the same impact on the senior stage during a loan spell with Real Betis , while also making just three appearances for Chelsea in the 2017/18 season. Celtic signed Charly Musonda on a 18 months loan deal in January 2018. It was a signing which was viewed as a real coup for the Hoops, with Brendan Rodgers claiming the Parkhead side had beaten off competition for Real Madrid at the time to secure his signature. However, Musonda never really found his feet in Glasgow, making just eight appearances across all competitions and only providing one assist in that time during a 1-0 win over Zenit St Petersburg in the Europa League. His loan was terminated by Chelsea in May due to his lack of game time butRodgers was full of praise for Musonda at the time of his exit. “He was a joy to work with, wanted to learn, but he’s at the age where he needs to be playing week-in, week-out and unfortunately I couldn’t promise him that,” said Rodgers in 2018. “I met with Chelsea on Monday. Charly’s contract was set in that there was a review at the end of the season, whether they wanted to take him back. The idea for Charly to come out [on loan] was to play as many games as he possibly could. “Between us both we were thinking he may not get the games that they would like him to get for next season. My job when I bring in young players is to give them the environment, and hopefully give them as much game time as I possibly can. If that doesn’t happen then of course we don’t own the player. “He’s a terrific young player. I think the level the team has been playing at has been difficult at times for Charly to get in. But there’s no doubt he’s a talent and I’m sure next year he’ll go on and hopefully get the games that he wants.” Charly Musonda failed to get much game time during an injury-hit spell at Vitesse which saw him play just four times. The Belgium sustained an posterior cruciate ligament injury, which restricted him to just four league appearances over the next two seasons. “A PCL surgery is not common in football. It’s not like an ACL [anterior cruciate ligament] where you have surgery and in six months you can come back,” he told BBC Sport. “They told me the odds of coming back were like 20%. Of coming back and being at the top level, being able to compete and play for a club like Chelsea, it was slim to none. It was very difficult.” Musonda played at reserve level for Chelsea up until 2022 when he left on a free to join Levante in Spain’s second tier. He made just 17 appearances in Spain before spending a year in Cyprus with Anorthosis, making 10 further league appearances. Musonda has been a free agent since 2024 and has now decided to call time on his career. Read More: Celtic-bound ace has seemingly played final game for club as Defoe says ex-Everton man ‘keen’ on Rangers move